Online analysts forecast UK consumers will make 115 million visits to retail websites today, an increase of 36 per cent on last year, says Experian Hitwise.

They also predict we will spend a total of 375 million hours shopping online this December as we turn to the web to find the best bargains.

"On Mega Monday, people across the UK will go online and use their Visa cards to make 6.8m transactions, the most in a single day in UK history," says Dr Steve Perry, Visa Europe commercial director.

"That's 21 per cent more than in 2011, signalling that consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to the advantages of shopping online for everyday purchases and special items, especially in the lead-up to Christmas."

Amazon.co.uk also predicts Cyber Monday to be its biggest single day, with orders set to peak at 9.20pm.

"Monday December 3 could be the busiest day in the history of Amazon.co.uk, and we're preparing for it by hiring more than 10,000 seasonal employees across our eight UK fulfilment centres," it says.

Stuart has been a tech journalist since 1998 and written for a number of publications around the world. Regularly turning up on television, radio and in newspapers, Stuart has played with virtually every gadget available.